A Town Like Geraldton

Geraldton, or 'Gero' as is it is known to the locals, is the town where I grew up.

It was the town that was full of surfers and bogans alike.  

It was the town where if you didn't play sport, there wasn't much else to do.  

  

(Hawks - My old basketball team & Stacey Heberle (right) - a local Gero girl and sporting superstar whose picture I found on Google Images!)

It was the town where the southerly wind would come in each day and blow the trees over, the flies away and the European windsurfers in. 

It was also the town where I met my oldest, most nearest and dearest girlfriends - so old in fact that we go all the way back to Grade 1 in primary school.

Maryellen Hipworth, me, Shelley Wilton (nee Brown), Marie Duplex, Kirsty Scurry (nee Carrick)

  

Absent: Chris Dobson (nee Brown)

We've been through everything together.......

12 years of Catholic school
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Boys we loved
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Our first cars
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University
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Jobs a plenty
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(Fifo Documents Controller)

(Tuna Fish Grader)

(Beautician)

 (Travel Agent)
"Computer says no...."

(Primary School Teacher)

(Small Appliance Sales Person  .......   Soft Adventure Footwear and Apparel Sales Person)

Marriages
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Break Ups

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Children...
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(Koji & Tommy Dobson)

...Of all sorts
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(Leo Brown & Jacques Wilton)

And our love of Spandau Ballet....
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You name it - we've shared it!

I've lived in a lot of different cities and towns, but no matter where I roam, I will always call Geraldton home.

The big country town sits half way up the Western Australian coast about 400kms from the next city - Perth.  Growing up there was idyllic, although we probably didn't think so at the time and we still bag it out to this day!  

Life was pretty easy growing up in Geraldton.  We could walk to the beach (although we would usually get our mums to drop us off). We'd hang out at each other's houses and 3 of us even lived in the same street!

There was only one main street of shops, so no decisions to make.  

And everywhere you needed to go was only 10 minutes away.  

No traffic lights, no Hungry Jacks, no good TV. 

You had to travel to your Nana's house in Perth in the school holidays to get a decent cartoon. 

It was a small community. Even one of our Primary school teachers used to read the news.... until she hooked up with the local priest and scandal broke loose (or so the legend goes).  Generally you knew most people and if you didn't know them, they knew you.

Now all the girls (except one die hard fan) have moved away from Geraldton and live in the big smokes around the country, but we always come together and talk and laugh like we saw each other yesterday.

We will always share that bond of growing up together in Geraldton.  Whether we like it or not, she'll always be a part of us - hence the name of our blog..... 

"You can take the girls out of Gero,

but you can't take Gero out of the girls"

This January three of the gang are heading to the US of A together.
New York, Washington DC, Las Vegas & Hawaii 
(Marie has a few extra weeks and destinations before we meet her)

It's so lovely to spend time with these ladies.  They know me so well and they make it easy and effortless to have a good time.

Chris Dobson, Marie Duplex and me

We invite you to join us on our journey and Marie, a first time blogger is also going to be writing her first travel blog along the way.  If you are keen to get a different perspective of our trip you can find her blog: 

Big Apple..... Bitten and Beyond at:

http://bigapplebittenandbeyond.blogspot.com.au

NB:

In previous blogs it was very tricky for people to post comments.  I've since learned I can press a button to make it not so tricky.